Training to Meet High Project Management Standards: The Project Management Career Development Program for the Department of Energy

In 2003, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a commitment to raising DOE's project management standard, stating his intention to "improve the management of our projects and ensure that we deliver projects on schedule, within budget, and with the full scope that we commit to Congress." The Deputy Secretary identified DOE's Project Management Career Development Program (PMCDP) as an integral factor in meeting this commitment.

PPC has been heavily involved in the execution of this program, which provides specialized project management skills training to all DOE personnel managing technical, research and development, construction, environmental, and information technology projects valued at $5 million or more. This certification program has both training and experience requirements. The first training course is Project Management Essentials, an 8-week, graduate-school-level curriculum using multimedia learning processes to cover the full range of project management elements. PPC has been the primary developer and teacher of this Essentials course. We developed curriculum materials, introduced information technology tools, and evaluated certification requirements for more than 90 DOE project management staff to date. The curriculum includes pre-project planning activities, such as requirements and alternatives analysis processes; baseline cost, schedule, scope, and risk management; leadership and project team building; project execution, including project reviews and earned value management; and configuration management and change control. In developing this program, PPC has applied industry best practices from government agencies, industry, and project management associations. We deliver the course through a combination of teaching methods, including in-class sessions, on-line learning, and tele-video.

In its Report 108-212 on the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill, the U.S. House of Representatives singled out this training program:

"This report … recognizes the value of the Project Management Career Development Program (PMCDP) and recommends central funding of PMCDP training to ensure broad implementation of the PMCDP throughout DOE."